I'm catching the train home!

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Wake up? No, not yet.
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. It's now 7!
Time to catch my train.

The train has arrived early...just like me. I didn't sleep well from 5-7AM 10 for fear I would sleep through my alarm and 2) the Dutch girl in the bunk below me kept talking in her sleep. If you're going to talk in your sleep at least have something juicy for the rest of us that have to listen to you. haha It was interesting though that she was speaking English is her sleep!

Anyhoo, I had most of my stuff packed up last night so it was just my pj's and flip flops and toiletries that I had to shove into my bags before I was ready to check out. Then the taxi came super quick and I was on my way to the Via Rail Train Station. My driver Raj originally from India and I had a pretty good conversation about Edmonton, Toronto and India (all places that he has lived in his life.) which made the ride to the train station a quick one.

Now I anxiously wait in the holding area at the train station waiting to board the train that has arrived early. I think the next 25 hours will seem to go by slowly especially since I can't wait to get home! Thank goodness I have lots to keep me entertained and lots of food and snacks to ensure I don't go hungry. lol

I'm lucky to have two seats to myself again and my seat mate across the aisle, Cheri, is very pleasant. Her daughter was on the train to see her off and thought she was stuck on the train. But the train was just moving forward to get some water. It caused a bit of panic but was sorted out soon enough.

We're getting closer to Jasper now. Only about 1.5 hours away so that meant there are nicer views of the mountains. I just spotted a bunch of deer. Wouldn't it be awesome if I spotted a bear too? We actually will have about 1.5 hours in Jasper. Unfortunately it is gray and wet outside so I think I'll opt to stay inside. I'll eat a few of my "Pringles Prints" that have trivia questions printed on them. BTW, did you know a leopard can jump higher than a kangaroo? It's true according to the chip I just ate!

Thinking about it, it almost seems surreal to me that at this time tomorrow I'll be home. What a thought. What to do first? I know near the top of the list will be to take a shower since I'll have been on the train for 24+ hours. Laundry...that can wait. lol

It's about half an hour west of Jasper and it's started to snow! It's so pretty. I'm just thankful to be inside the train! Soon we'll be in BC. Valemont to be exact and that means we'll soon put our watches back one hour.

Cheri's been a nice train "buddy" to talk to every so often. Not over talkative which is a good thing. She's well equipped with stuff to keep her busy. Book, magazines, CD player and even a DVD player. She was watching “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” earlier and from the sounds of it she has a crush on Johnny Depp. lol

We were set to arrive into Kamloops early but ended up 15 minutes late! There sure do seem like lots of freight trains going the other way that we have to wait for. This was Cheri's stop so I said goodbye to her and helped her off of the train. We were delayed for about an hour in Kamloops for some reason. Then one hour passes and then a really long freight train passes and then we're off.

Not sure what the lake is but the moon shining brightly and reflecting off of the lake looks really cool yet eerie at the same time. It's too bad it's not light out as we go through here because I'm sure there are some pretty amazing views that we're missing out on...or not. It sure seems like we're going faster now. Perhaps to make up some lost time.

Well, one more sleep and I should almost be in Vancouver!!!!!

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